If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

“I always wanted to make it big in badminton. I played the sport at the school level but could not pursue it as academics took the frontseat. I took to badminton umpiring and today, I can proudly say that I have realized my dream of securing WBF accreditation,”

“It feels great to be known as India’s first woman WBF accredited umpire. A lot of sweat and toil has gone into it,”

"As expected, India’s Saina Nehwal qualified as one of the eight elite players, but compatriot Ajay Jayaram missed the opportunity by a whisker."

"Although Jayaram is ranked world No. 32, behind teammate Parupalli Kashyap (No.21), invitations to the Superseries Finals are based on the Superseries Rankings, where Jayaram is at No. 11. As No.9 Sho Sasaki (Japan) declined the opportunity, the next in place was Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (No.10). The most prominent name missing from the tournament will be world and Olympic champion Lin Dan, who hasn’t participated in any Superseries event after the Olympics."

There is an interview of Sikki Reddy who was the women's doubles runner up pairing up with Aparna Balan in the recently concluded Tata Open International Challenge 2012. I found her interview interesting as she said that her greatest motivation is her coach..

"How does it feel to have reached the finals of the Tata International Open? I am very happy and thankful to God. This was the first time in India that I played a Challenger final and although we lost the match, it was a great experience. Earlier, we reached the finals in the Bahrain Challenger but unfortunately we lost in the finals there too.

You suffered a serious knee injury a few years back. Have you fully recovered? Yes, I had a tough time back then. I used to cry in pain. That was a horrible year for me. I was hesitant to go for a surgery but Gopi Sir wanted me to get back and convinced me to undergo a surgery. Viplav, who is our physio, took great care of me and then I went for rehabilitation. I was out of the game for one year.

What do you have to say about the recent controversies around your coach Gopichand?
I won’t like to comment on that. All I know is that Gopi Sir is a great man. "

Those who respect their guru/teacher will never fail in their life.. Everybody should know about that.. This girl is very well knowing about that fact.. All the very best Sikki ...

Can Badminton Become India's Next Big Commercial Sport in 2013? -ForbesIndia

As a national interest, badminton is on its way up and as a sport, it is on its way to becoming a commercial success in 2013. According to Mahesh Bhupathi, Indian badminton has a great combination of things going in its favour. The tennis star follows badminton closely both as an athlete and as owner and MD of Globosport, the sports and entertainment media consultancy.

“First, for any sport to be successful in India, you need to have role models,” he says.

He points out that a sport needs to have successful players, who occupy top international rankings, and India certainly has such names both at the senior and junior levels. “Not only does India have senior Olympians like Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap, but plenty of prodigious young talent is coming up the ranks too.”

Seventeen-year-olds C Rohit Yadav and Pusarla Venkata Sindhu are ranked ninth and seventh on the junior world men’s and women’s lists, respectively. Successful youngsters are marketable role models for kids to take up the sport.

As the Olympics demonstrated, the Indian national team is a force to be reckoned with. Though India is fighting for a spot in this year’s top 10, the team still has a long way to go before it can catch up with China at the pinnacle of the Badminton World Federation rankings.

Second, credit must go to both Pullela ‘Gopi’ Gopichand and Prakash Padukone for putting the systems in place and laying strong foundations.

“Gopi’s badminton academy has trained some of India’s top talents like Saina Nehwal; and Olympic Gold Quest—which Prakash co-founded—has created many Olympic success stories across various sports, including badminton.”

Nehwal, in particular, has reached a level where she can drive the development of the sport commercially in India and her international success is a much-needed catalyst for badminton’s increasing popularity amongst sports fans.

Bhupathi understands that support of fans is essential for any sport to become commercially viable and he saw how the entire nation got behind the team during the Olympics. He feels that Saina can really spearhead the growth of this sport.

Though society will look for a benchmark to evaluate this growth, it’s hard to compare badminton and other sports in India. Bhupathi also points out that even racquet sports like badminton and tennis, for example, are two different prospects entirely with different sets of audiences.

“Tennis saw its growth in India in the late 90s, when Leander and I were playing,” he says, “Today, it is one of the most popular sports in the country.”

Indeed, India possesses brilliant youngsters like Sumit Nagal—who qualified for the Junior US Open at the age of 15. “Watch out for him in the next four years,” Bhupathi advises, “He is a special talent and his development was possible because of the growing popularity of tennis.” His message is that the same can happen with badminton but one needs talented young athletes to hog the limelight.

The comparison with cricket is inevitable but it is unfair to set those standards of success—in terms of both popularity and revenues—for badminton.

Cricket in India is an anomaly. Cricket is what drives pretty much the entire sports market in the brand space, just like Bollywood does in the entertainment space. Other sports like tennis, badminton and hockey occupy their own little spaces. Bhupathi feels that badminton’s place in the Indian sporting pantheon will be redefined as the country develops. “It will grow as the economy grows.”

The interest expressed by corporations for the Indian Badminton League is a positive sign. There are 18 interested parties, which indicate there’s money waiting to come into the sport that will make it a viable career option for more and more shuttlers across the country.

In terms of fan following, he doesn’t feel it will mirror the European football model where fans are brought together solely on local affiliations. In an Indian context, it’s not necessarily about regions. With badminton, it will be more about teams and franchises and, most importantly, about how they are built.

Saina Nehwal, for example, is from Hyderabad but could play for Kerala and still retain her high fan following. The point he makes is that people will eventually get behind their favourite players.

2012 was a great year for Indian badminton where the foundations to propel one of India’s most widely played games into a top national sport was built. If badminton continues its journey upwards, 2013 will be even better.

...Veteran Indonesian coach Rizqi Budi Raharjo has his logic for Asian supremacy: For him discipline matters most and the academies in Asia give utmost importance to this. He cited India's national coach Pullela Gopichand and said he was highly disciplined and enforces this in his wards.

"Gopichand is a good coach because he disciplines his players and is strict with them. Without discipline no player can aspire to go up in life. Indonesia, a badminton powerhouse not long ago has gone down over the years because of the lack of discipline while countries like China, Korea and Japan have come up as their players are disciplined," says Rizqi, who was the head coach at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) till March.

..."Rexy tells me that the culture in Europe is such that players can't be disciplined and a tough sport like badminton needs utmost focus throughout your playing career, if you are serious about winning. No wonder, the supply line from Europe is drying up."

If everything goes well, Rizqi and Rexy will be coaching Indonesia as the two have been called by their national federation in January to discuss how they plan to do so.

Asked about the recent controversy surrounding Gopichand, whether he can run a private academy being the national coach of a country, the 39-year-old said: "Gopichand Academy is still the best in the country and without doubt he is the best coach you have. You see the results his proteges are delivering. They win national and international tournaments. He has given excellent results."

Asked what's wrong with Indian badminton, Rizqi, who has trained several national champions like Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhatt and Sayali Gokhale, said: "The problem is the players lack motivation. The kids here are lazy; very few want to be winners. The coaches should motivate them with hard training, to build stamina and improve physical fitness."

..."Srikanth is a great prospect. Sindhu is 18 and has height and skills to match. Skill-wise, she is better than Saina (Nehwal), but the problem with her is she is not as strong as Saina mentally. Saina is never overawed by her opponent, whether she is playing a Chinese or Japanese. Sindhu will get better with time," said Rizqi, who coached top Pakistani players in Lahore and Islamabad in recent months.

..."(China's) Lin Dan is the best, he has the best smash and is clever. He has a clear-cut game plan, he knows exactly what to do at a given situation. (Malaysian) Lee gets too defensive at times. My vote goes to Taufik (Hidayat), he is still the best skill-wise, better than Lee and Lin despite ageing."

...Veteran Indonesian coach Rizqi Budi Raharjo has his logic for Asian supremacy: For him discipline matters most and the academies in Asia give utmost importance to this. He cited India's national coach Pullela Gopichand and said he was highly disciplined and enforces this in his wards.

"Gopichand is a good coach because he disciplines his players and is strict with them. Without discipline no player can aspire to go up in life. Indonesia, a badminton powerhouse not long ago has gone down over the years because of the lack of discipline while countries like China, Korea and Japan have come up as their players are disciplined," says Rizqi, who was the head coach at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) till March.

..."Rexy tells me that the culture in Europe is such that players can't be disciplined and a tough sport like badminton needs utmost focus throughout your playing career, if you are serious about winning. No wonder, the supply line from Europe is drying up."

If everything goes well, Rizqi and Rexy will be coaching Indonesia as the two have been called by their national federation in January to discuss how they plan to do so.

Asked about the recent controversy surrounding Gopichand, whether he can run a private academy being the national coach of a country, the 39-year-old said: "Gopichand Academy is still the best in the country and without doubt he is the best coach you have. You see the results his proteges are delivering. They win national and international tournaments. He has given excellent results."

Asked what's wrong with Indian badminton, Rizqi, who has trained several national champions like Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhatt and Sayali Gokhale, said: "The problem is the players lack motivation. The kids here are lazy; very few want to be winners. The coaches should motivate them with hard training, to build stamina and improve physical fitness."

..."Srikanth is a great prospect. Sindhu is 18 and has height and skills to match. Skill-wise, she is better than Saina (Nehwal), but the problem with her is she is not as strong as Saina mentally. Saina is never overawed by her opponent, whether she is playing a Chinese or Japanese. Sindhu will get better with time," said Rizqi, who coached top Pakistani players in Lahore and Islamabad in recent months.

..."(China's) Lin Dan is the best, he has the best smash and is clever. He has a clear-cut game plan, he knows exactly what to do at a given situation. (Malaysian) Lee gets too defensive at times. My vote goes to Taufik (Hidayat), he is still the best skill-wise, better than Lee and Lin despite ageing."

After seeing K.Srikanth 's performance in recent times, i already opened a separate thread to this young potential. He is improving very fast. Even Indonesian coach has seen his talent in recent times. Wonderful.

Skillwise, sindhu is better than Saina. She is just 17. She will improve and make india proud even better than Saina i suppose. She need to concentrate in building strength of her body and to accumulate power in smashes.

Taufik's performance has been simply terrible for the past 2 years.
Skillwise I think only his backhand is better than LD & LCW.

Taufik is shutting down has been doing that for some time now. He's just competing his sponsorship obligations etc. I guess what Rizqi prolly meant to say was that his was the more complete, pure technique, plus the fact that he was more naturally gifted (his allusion to "skill")...

I sure hope not!
Taufik is shutting down has been doing that for some time now. He's just competing his sponsorship obligations etc. I guess what Rizqi prolly meant to say was that his was the more complete, pure technique, plus the fact that he was more naturally gifted (his allusion to "skill")...

Yes, Taufik peaked early and was a class act for so long.
I suggest he retires before his legacy is diluted by the current performance.

...Veteran Indonesian coach Rizqi Budi Raharjo has his logic for Asian supremacy: For him discipline matters most and the academies in Asia give utmost importance to this. He cited India's national coach Pullela Gopichand and said he was highly disciplined and enforces this in his wards.

"Gopichand is a good coach because he disciplines his players and is strict with them. Without discipline no player can aspire to go up in life. Indonesia, a badminton powerhouse not long ago has gone down over the years because of the lack of discipline while countries like China, Korea and Japan have come up as their players are disciplined," says Rizqi, who was the head coach at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) till March.

..."Rexy tells me that the culture in Europe is such that players can't be disciplined and a tough sport like badminton needs utmost focus throughout your playing career, if you are serious about winning. No wonder, the supply line from Europe is drying up."

If everything goes well, Rizqi and Rexy will be coaching Indonesia as the two have been called by their national federation in January to discuss how they plan to do so.

Asked about the recent controversy surrounding Gopichand, whether he can run a private academy being the national coach of a country, the 39-year-old said: "Gopichand Academy is still the best in the country and without doubt he is the best coach you have. You see the results his proteges are delivering. They win national and international tournaments. He has given excellent results."

Asked what's wrong with Indian badminton, Rizqi, who has trained several national champions like Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhatt and Sayali Gokhale, said: "The problem is the players lack motivation. The kids here are lazy; very few want to be winners. The coaches should motivate them with hard training, to build stamina and improve physical fitness."

..."Srikanth is a great prospect. Sindhu is 18 and has height and skills to match. Skill-wise, she is better than Saina (Nehwal), but the problem with her is she is not as strong as Saina mentally. Saina is never overawed by her opponent, whether she is playing a Chinese or Japanese. Sindhu will get better with time," said Rizqi, who coached top Pakistani players in Lahore and Islamabad in recent months.

..."(China's) Lin Dan is the best, he has the best smash and is clever. He has a clear-cut game plan, he knows exactly what to do at a given situation. (Malaysian) Lee gets too defensive at times. My vote goes to Taufik (Hidayat), he is still the best skill-wise, better than Lee and Lin despite ageing."

I read the whole article. It's a good one and tells plainly what is needed in a winner - hard work, desire, mental strength, decision making and skill.

Are Indian players 'lazy'? And if so, would overcoming this be the answer to breaking into the top ten?

Indians see many options as they dont know whether this particular option(playing badminton) would be fruitful to their career or not.. Because due to lack of a particular system in sports, they cant expect future to their career after retiring from this sport. Hence, it may sound like they are lazy to particular persons. Actually speaking, its not lazy. Its like they may tend to lose interest then and there. Because, starting from searching sponsors to choosing their academics, they have lots of other aspects they need to look after by their own. If they overcome this, definitely, many indians will be in top 10 for sure. Thats not so far.. We can see many youngsters soon in this sport as its slowly becoming familiar to many indians after Cricket.

After seeing K.Srikanth 's performance in recent times, i already opened a separate thread to this young potential. He is improving very fast. Even Indonesian coach has seen his talent in recent times. Wonderful.

Skillwise, sindhu is better than Saina. She is just 17. She will improve and make india proud even better than Saina i suppose. She need to concentrate in building strength of her body and to accumulate power in smashes.

In what respect do u think Sindu is better than Saina? Skill-wise? I do not see much about it, actually.
Well, Sindu is just 17 yrs old and won a match from the Olympic champion when LXR was completely not in her form. Sindu is not even close to Saina right now, both in racket skills and in mental strength.

In what respect do u think Sindu is better than Saina? Skill-wise? I do not see much about it, actually.
Well, Sindu is just 17 yrs old and won a match from the Olympic champion when LXR was completely not in her form. Sindu is not even close to Saina right now, both in racket skills and in mental strength.

I accept that LXR was completely not in her form. But you also need to accept that she was one among those who had beaten her in recent times in which we need to mention Lu Lan, Juliane, Saina . These people are not something according to everybody not only me. So, if she stands among these wonderful ladies, why not you praise her!!!.

This is not only my statement that sindhu is better in skills than Saina. Many of whom who watched her playing said that. Nothing offense. I am not decreasing saina's efforts. Saina's play is totally different compared to Sindhu . There is no doubt in that. She is playing with more aggresiveness and extraordinary fighting spirit.When you watch Saina playing, you feel so much tension in each and every point. But you dont feel such a kind in sindhu's play. I have heard many people who are well versed with badminton had said that sindhu's skills are better. Anyhow, both girls are wonderful for India, who proved they are not short of potentials.

At sindhu's age, Saina would not have had done what sindhu is doing now. So, Both have different styles and techniques. I love both the girls. Even you might have known about this that if you ask me to choose which one you select as my favourite, i will blindly say Saina .

It seems that india has sent only players in men's and women's singles players to play in korea for the upcoming Superseries. With many young talents pouring in, corporates need to sponsor them seeing their talent in the game. Many youngsters still struggling to get sponsors. I have seen so many youngsters who have played India Open GPG last week out of them, i need to mention about Pratul Joshi, H.S.Pranoy, K.Srikanth, Ruthvika Shivani and Rituparna Das. These young talents proved that they are not juniors anymore. Rituparna is just 15. She dragged Linda in such a way that even sindhu was struggling a bit to do that. I even wondered about that. And another young bomb pratul joshi who won against former olympic champion Taufik Hidayat. They should have got chance to participate in the upcoming korea open to get familiar with many top ranked players in order to get experience. .

It seems that india has sent only players in men's and women's singles players to play in korea for the upcoming Superseries. With many young talents pouring in, corporates need to sponsor them seeing their talent in the game. Many youngsters still struggling to get sponsors. I have seen so many youngsters who have played India Open GPG last week out of them, i need to mention about Pratul Joshi, H.S.Pranoy, K.Srikanth, Ruthvika Shivani and Rituparna Das. These young talents proved that they are not juniors anymore. Rituparna is just 15. She dragged Linda in such a way that even sindhu was struggling a bit to do that. I even wondered about that. And another young bomb pratul joshi who won against former olympic champion Taufik Hidayat. They should have got chance to participate in the upcoming korea open to get familiar with many top ranked players in order to get experience. .

they cannot lah....
korea open is premier super series tourney....
almost all top players participated.
they (indian youngster you mention) will only in the reserve list.
even far from qualification list....

NEW DELHI: London Olympics quarterfinalist shuttler Parupalli Kashyap has defended national coach Pullela Gopichand, who was rapped by the Bombay high court for running a private academy, saying that Indian badminton owes its success to Gopichand.

"The badminton scene has changed in India only because of Gopichand. Now there is a proper structure, which was missing in the last 10 years. Gopichand has used his experience to bring about the change," Kashyap said.

"Before he took charge there was no proper planning, no physios or masseurs. I don't want to take away the credit from the national body but Gopichand has put a system in place," Kashyap said.

"2012 was a great year for Indian badminton and 2013 will be bigger and better, reckons Mahesh Bhupathi

As a national interest, badminton is on its way up and as a sport, it is on its way to becoming a commercial success in 2013. According to Mahesh Bhupathi, Indian badminton has a great combination of things going in its favour. The tennis star follows badminton closely both as an athlete and as owner and MD of Globosport, the sports and entertainment media consultancy.

“First, for any sport to be successful in India, you need to have role models,” he says.

He points out that a sport needs to have successful players, who occupy top international rankings, and India certainly has such names both at the senior and junior levels. “Not only does India have senior Olympians like Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap, but plenty of prodigious young talent is coming up the ranks too.”

Seventeen-year-olds C Rohit Yadav and Pusarla Venkata Sindhu are ranked ninth and seventh on the junior world men’s and women’s lists, respectively. Successful youngsters are marketable role models for kids to take up the sport.

As the Olympics demonstrated, the Indian national team is a force to be reckoned with. Though India is fighting for a spot in this year’s top 10, the team still has a long way to go before it can catch up with China at the pinnacle of the Badminton World Federation rankings.

Second, credit must go to both Pullela ‘Gopi’ Gopichand and Prakash Padukone for putting the systems in place and laying strong foundations.

“Gopi’s badminton academy has trained some of India’s top talents like Saina Nehwal; and Olympic Gold Quest—which Prakash co-founded—has created many Olympic success stories across various sports, including badminton.”

Nehwal, in particular, has reached a level where she can drive the development of the sport commercially in India and her international success is a much-needed catalyst for badminton’s increasing popularity amongst sports fans.

Bhupathi understands that support of fans is essential for any sport to become commercially viable and he saw how the entire nation got behind the team during the Olympics. He feels that Saina can really spearhead the growth of this sport.

Cricket in India is an anomaly. Cricket is what drives pretty much the entire sports market in the brand space, just like Bollywood does in the entertainment space. Other sports like tennis, badminton and hockey occupy their own little spaces. Bhupathi feels that badminton’s place in the Indian sporting pantheon will be redefined as the country develops. “It will grow as the economy grows.”

The interest expressed by corporations for the Indian Badminton League is a positive sign. There are 18 interested parties, which indicate there’s money waiting to come into the sport that will make it a viable career option for more and more shuttlers across the country.

In terms of fan following, he doesn’t feel it will mirror the European football model where fans are brought together solely on local affiliations. In an Indian context, it’s not necessarily about regions. With badminton, it will be more about teams and franchises and, most importantly, about how they are built.

Saina Nehwal, for example, is from Hyderabad but could play for Kerala and still retain her high fan following. The point he makes is that people will eventually get behind their favourite players.

2012 was a great year for Indian badminton where the foundations to propel one of India’s most widely played games into a top national sport was built. If badminton continues its journey upwards, 2013 will be even better."

Yes. Indeed. Saina is a great sport personality in India who won millions of hearts with her charming style and wonderful skills . She is a history maker who did an excellent job for a great country like India which indeed dragged so many Cricket fans towards badminton(including me ) . Many players may come and go, but her name would be in the assets of badminton history of india for long long long time.